Jose Reyes left the field during batting practice Wednesday and was scratched from the Mets’ lineup with what was termed lower back stiffness.
A Mets official called the problem “turf related,” according to the New York Daily News.
Reyes missed the spring and the first four games of the regular season with a thyroid condition, but he had managed to stay healthy since, playing in all 73 straight games for the Mets. He played in just 36 games in 2009 because of calf and hamstring injuries.
Reyes is hitting .277/.321/.419 with 51 runs scored this season. He was in a 2-for-18 slump over the previous four games, but he had been red-hot over the previous month, collecting multiple hits 19 times in a stretch of 32 games.
With Reyes absent, the Mets have Ruben Tejada at shortstop and Alex Cora playing second base tonight.